The UAE branches of Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) have been liquidated some 22 years after the fraud-hit lender was shut down in one of the biggest banking scandals of the time.
The Central Bank yesterday issued a statement confirming the liquidation of BCCI's local branches. It also instructed the Ministry of Economy to register completion of the liquidation and strike the branches from the Commercial Registry.
BCCI gained notoriety for widespread fraud and illegal activities that ultimately led to its closure in the early 1990s.Regulators from the UK, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands closed the bank in 1991 after uncovering the laundering of drug money and other fraudulent transactions.
Before the bank's collapse in July that year it had operations across 73 countries, making it one of the largest liquidations as of that time.
As of June 1991, BCCI held assets of US$16.9billion but was insolvent, with billions of dollars of unrecoverable loans and unrecorded deposits, coupled with "such widespread fraud" that its financial history could not be determined, the bank's liquidators wrote in a report last year.
One of its UAE operations, BCC-Emirates, ultimately became part of the bank now known as Union National Bank.
BCCI had eight branches in the UAE which were a major source of retail deposits. Though liquidators for that unit were appointed in 1996, its liquidation was not completed until last month.BCCI operations in the Cayman Islands were liquidated in March this year, with the bank's businesses in England, Scotland and the Isle of Man following in May.
The Abu Dhabi Government, a majority shareholder in BCCI at the time of its collapse, agreed to compensate small creditors as well as contribute $2.2bn to the bank's liquidation funds, according to the liquidators' report.
The Central Bank also put in place a creditor protection scheme for the benefit of creditors of the local branches of BCCI.
Between March 1997 and2010, the Central Bank provided Dh55.9m to repay approximately 10,000 small creditors with claims of Dh20,000 or less.
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Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
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FA Cup fifth round
Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports
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Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
